About this IMS Online Hybrid Retreat

Monday, August 4, 2025 - Wednesday, August 13, 2025

Many of the teachings throughout this retreat will draw from the path to awakening as described in the late Mahāsi Sayadaw’s Manual of Insight. We’ll explore the steps laid out by the Buddha that lead to the sure heart’s release: the purification of conduct, the purification of mind through concentration and insight, the understanding of absolute and conventional reality, and the stages of insight that lead to nibbana (liberation).

Held in Noble Silence, the course will include instructions for sitting and walking meditations, teacher talks and guided lovingkindness meditations. Instructions will include the four foundations of mindfulness, with emphasis on the relaxed practice of mindfulness of mind. Please note that there is no direct interaction with the onsite teachers.

The daily schedule will alternate periods of sitting and walking throughout the day. Suitable for both new and experienced meditators, participants from all walks of life are warmly welcome!


This retreat begins on Monday, August 4 at 7:15 pm ET and concludes Wednesday, August 13 at 10:45 am ET. A full home retreat schedule and instructions will be offered. 

Choose your enrollment fee

Teachers

Kamala Masters is a co-founder with Steve Armstrong of Vipassana Metta Foundation, and serves as an IMS Core Guiding Teacher. A meditator since 1977, she trained intensively in metta (lovingkindness) and vipassana (insight) in the Mahasi tradition with Sayadaw U Pandita and Anagarika Munindra. Continuing her practice with Sayadaw U Tejaniya, she encourages a balanced relaxed awareness that has the clarity of precision as well as kindness.  She is a mother of 4 children and grandmother of 7.


Deborah Helzer first took up Buddhist meditation 30 years ago to reduce stress while working on her engineering degree.  She has been teaching at IMS since 2004, as well as with theInsight Meditation Community of Washington, DC where she lives.  She has studied and practiced with both western and asian teachers, including a year as a nun with the late Sayadaw U Pandita. Her teaching style reflects the influence of the 20th century Burmese master Mahasi Sayadaw and his emphasis on clear, non-judgmental awareness.  Since becoming a mother, she has also been actively exploring practice within family life.

Tara Mulay teaches and mentors dharma practitioners, helping them cultivate insight through the meditative process and in daily life practice. Trained and authorized by the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, Tara serves as a Guiding Teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California, and teaches nationally.

Her journey into dharma practice began during her 20-year career as a criminal defense attorney. Tara’s teachings are rooted in the Mahasi Sayadaw lineage, enriched by influences from other Theravadan and Early Buddhist traditions.

Of South Asian heritage, Tara was initially drawn to dharma practice by the Buddha’s teachings rejecting caste as a measure of worth and capacity for awakening. She believes that classical Buddhist practices—fostering compassion, non-greed, non-hatred, and non-delusion—are powerful tools for empowering marginalized communities.

For more information, visit Taramulay.com.

Vance Pryor, PsyD, began insight meditation in 1998. He has been deeply influenced by the teachings of Sayadaw U Pandita and Sayadaw U Tejaniya. His training to become a teacher has been supported by the mentorship of Steve Armstrong and Kamala Masters. He is a recent graduate of IMS’s 2017-2021 Teacher Training Program.

More Information

  • Equity Pricing Model

    As one part of our ongoing effort to expand access to the teachings of the Buddha, all IMS Online programs feature equity-based registration fees, including the opportunity to self-select a low-cost scholarship rate. No-fee enrollment is available for those who request a fee-waiver at [email protected], no questions asked. Our system supports the cultivation of a dynamic and inclusive community and is made possible by our generous donors and those who choose to support other students by contributing at the “Benefactor” level.

  • Registration Deadline

    Registration for this program closes on August 1, 2025 at 6:00 pm ET.

  • Program Recordings

    This program will be recorded and made available for on-demand viewing after the live sessions. On-demand videos will be available to registered participants only for 90 days.

  • Refunds

    IMS Online offers full refunds through the last day of a live program. Refunds for this program can be processed until August 13, 2025. Refunds can only be applied to the card that was used for the purchase. Please reach out to [email protected] with any refund requests. 

  • Additional Questions

    If you have additional questions please contact us at [email protected].